Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 13, 2005 | | Summary | Emotional honesty without phony sentimentality | Content
 | As long as any family is in turmoil over interpersonal relationships, this sparkling gem of a film has a message for the heart. When single mom Lee (Meryl Streep) gets a call from long-estranged sister Bessie (Diane Keaton) that the latter has been diagnosed with leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant match, off goes Streep with her two sons, the older an arsonist juvenile delinquent (Leonard DiCaprio in an understated strong performance). Living with Bessie in her Florida home is her and Lee's slowly deteriotating father, Marvin (the late Hume Cronyn), neither of whom Lee has seen in nearly two decades. Coming together as sisters, one of whom is likely to die, Streep must come to emotional resolution of her decision to leave and consign Bessie to their ailing father, while Bessie has to confront the years of sacrificing love and her own life to tend to her father. Together, Streep and Keaton are bravado in coming to an uneasy truce - and, later, we are led to hope, love - while seeing but not yet ready to come to terms with each other about their feelings for their choices made years earlier. But when they do, the resolution is a refreshingly honest one that, when all is nearly said and done, the past is done and all the two really have is each other. A subplot is DiCaprio's portrayal of Bessie's nephew who develops what looks to be a stronger relationship with his aunt than with his mother, an observation not lost with some regret on Streep's maternal character. Director Jerry Zaks has a gem in this 1996 production that earned Keaton her third Best Actress nomination in that it isn't smaltzy in sentimentality and instead paints a portrait of a broken family coming to a fragile peace. In a cameo, Robert DeNiro breathes some unusual comedic breath into his character as Bessie's doctor who seems forever frazzled by his office assistant who happens to be his mentally impaired brother. The film's ending gives us an unstated look at where Bessie's physical battle is likely to take her, and Streep's resolution to it gives us a hope that those of us who harbor feelings of anger and regret can, when the time comes, surmount them. Keaton, Streep and DiCaprio together combine to give a moving but honest look at the tragedies that face all families and how those tragedies can sometimes churn out the miracle of redemption. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 08, 2005 | | Summary | incredible | Content
| i just watched this movie... what a roller coaster of emotions.
Superbly acted! Very endearing...
I am still crying! |
| Rating | | | Date | December 23, 2004 | | Summary | Wonderful... | Content
| Marvins Room is just so touching. Leonardo Dicaprio is brilliant and Diane keaton is so sweet she made me cry.
Watch it. |
| Rating | | | Date | October 26, 2004 | | Summary | Deeply touching! | Content
| One of the best dramas of the 90's. I've seen this movie a number of times since its release and it never fails to move me. It is a story of two estranged sisters whose life choices drove them to different paths but after years of no contact brought them together again when one needs a bone marrow transplant due to cancer. That's when they had the chance to talk about unsaid feelings and provide them a closure. Diane Keaton played the sister with the cancer and Streep the sister who'll try to give the transplant. Leonardo di Caprio (underrated actor) plays Streeps rebellious son and De Niro has a semi cameo as Keaton's doctor. The titular Marvin is the father of Streep and Keaton whose been dying for years without actually dying.
Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton were perfection. I especially enjoyed Streep's performance. It was fun seeing her play a bitch and she nailed the role. But Diane Keaton ultimately takes over the movie especially in the end. I was deeply moved by her performance, so natural and true that it stays with me long after the movie ends.
There's a moving scene towards the end of the movie, when out of the blue Keaton said to Streep that she's very lucky because her life was full of love and then Streep consoled her and said yes many people loves her. But Keaton said it's not about that. What she meant was she's very lucky to love her dad and her aunt so much. Makes you realize that the best feeling in the world is to love someone regardless whether reciprocated or not. The ending was just perfect, it's still sad but in a good way where the characters reached the peak of their character arcs. It's a triumphant ending.
I recommend this film to the highest regard possible. It's full of heart and I don't want to say life lessons because the movie ain't preachy, but I guess in some ways made you think about your own life.
Grade: A |
| Rating | | | Date | July 11, 2004 | | Summary | Witty, Funny and Heartwarming | Content
| Taken from a play by Scott McPherson, "Marvin's Room" at first seems like it might be a dreary tear jerker of a drama. But wait, there is a dream cast involved and somewhat maudlin scenarios turn out to be sheer delights. Imagine a film with Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, Robert DeNiro, Leonard DiCaprio and Hugh Cronyn and you cannot go wrong. Keaton is taking care of her long failing father (Cronyn) when she discovers she has leukemia. She contacts her long estranged 'beauty school graduate' sister (Streep) and pyromaniac nephew (DiCaprio) as possible donors. When the families unite in Florida, it's a flurry of funny, hard-nosed and real life dialogue. All cast members are at their best and Streep and Keaton juxtaposed as sisters is amazing. DeNiro plays Keaton's scatter-brained doctor and he is priceless. There's strong warmth and reality in this film and despite the occasional tear, the ultimate feeling is happiness. This movie is a keeper. |
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